Dan Jurgens On Aquaman & The Others And Writing KGBeast While The Cold War Made a Comeback

A few weeks ago, Aquaman and the Others writer Dan Jurgens was incredibly busy.

Wrapping Futures End month for DC Comics and riding a massive wave of buzz surrounding his Booster Gold one-shot that reintroduced elements of the pre-Flashpoint DC Universe, we -- and seemingly everybody else -- talked to Jurgens a few times...

...which is why it's arguably not surprising that when we conducted three interviews in three days, our Aquaman and the Others commentary track ended up in limbo.

Check out our conversation below, with apologies to Dan and to our regular group of Aquaman fans, one of whom is responsible for pointing out to us that this was missing. We'll be back on schedule this month!

If you haven't read the issue yet, there are some spoilers ahead, so head on over to ComiXology and buy a copy to read along with us.

Did you come up with the idea of a KGBeast story, or was that something where DC asked if you could bring the character back?

No, that was all me. It seems that there have to be some very obvious connections to Russia, given the backgrounds of some of the characters. It seemed like a natural place to go.

I remember that things were very tense with Russia right around the time this book was solicited. Does that kind of thing feed into the storytelling in an issue like this?

You know, that was really weird.

We had already planned the story and this particular issue was written when the conflict with Ukraine blew up. It all kind of verified my instincts, especially as the thirst for Russian nationalism emerged.

Is there a story reason that the "original" Vostok had to turn out to be the clone?

Vostok's story is still emerging. You'll get a lot more on that as this particular story unfolds.

Obviously we're starting to see Mera getting jealous of Ya'Wara here. Will you continue to tease some of the Futures End stuff more in this book than most DC titles are doing?

I wouldn't say "starting".

If you go back to the very first appearance of The Others in Aquaman, there is clear and obvious tension between the two.

Hey, there's that yacht! Man, it apparently lasts WAY longer than the plane, huh?

Could well be!

Another kind of real-world thing is the idea of Ya'Wara's dress being a problem in Tehran, which you mention twice. Was it primarily important to bring that up since the backstory demanded Tehran, a real place with real policies, rather than a fictional DCU stand-in?

I think that's important, not only for the story itself, but in coming to understand Sayeh.

Obviously we see the team go their separate ways in this issue. Will this arc be a bit more solo adventure-y after we spent the first five issues establishing how they operate as a team?

It'll certainly start that way.

Remember-- this is a much more loosely constructed team than what you normally see in the DCU. They fragmented for a long period of time-- about five years-- before getting back together.

They obviously are a group of people with fairly disparate interests. Does that play into why having them not necessarily be together every minute is appealing?

Yeah, it does.

After all, most people go to work and work with their "team", right? But then they all go home to a different group.

The notion of a superhero team living, working, dining together, etc. is really a bit odd.

That shadowy figure('s butt and legs) look kind of famiiliar. Might we recognize her when she's revealed?

You most certainly will. She's something of a favorite.